RELENTLESS AND RUTHLESS
Murrayfield is magical but we are focused on victory, says All Blacks captain Read
IT’S fair to say that, since his first visit to Murrayfield, Kieran Read’s ambitions have risen just a touch. Back in the autumn of 2008, the new boy in the All Blacks starting XV was simply trying not to trip over his own feet in the pitch black. Now he is aiming to lead his team to a ‘ruthless’ triumph over a muchimproved Scotland.
The New Zealand captain, recalling his debut in Edinburgh nine years ago, admitted that the whole occasion — the first time that the Murrayfield choreographers had decided to drop the lights and accentuate the atmosphere ahead of a tea-time kick-off — had been something of an eye opener.
‘This is a great ground to play at and I have fond memories here,’ said Read. ‘My debut Test was here, the first time in an All Black jersey.
‘So I really love the ground, the people and the atmosphere as well. I love getting piped into the ground, the whole thing.
‘Firstly, I remember just trying not to fall over — because it was pitch black when I ran out.
‘I was thinking: “Oh, this wouldn’t be a good look, in my first Test!” After that, it went quickly and I was pretty excited.
‘I also remember, although I can’t recall his name (Jason White), the No 6 for Scotland — an awesome man who played a lot of Tests — gave me his jersey, which I was pretty struck with.’
Read, former World Player of the Year, one of the double World Cup winners in this All Blacks squad, epitomises the strength and durability upon which the Kiwis have built their reputation.
Relentless with and without the ball, the modern-day back-row dynamo makes things happen.
Declaring himself 100-per-cent fit after picking up a knock in last weekend’s win over France, the 32-year-old will be key to how the visitors play.
Hardly likely to dismiss the opposition as an irrelevance — leaving that kind of chatter to certain former All Blacks with too much time on their hands — Read also seems genuinely wary of underestimating Scotland. ‘They’ve advanced immensely,’ he said of hosts now ranked sixth in the world, five spots and half a world behind the undisputed No1 team. ‘As a team, I certainly respect them for how they came through the World Cup in 2015. ‘Over the last couple of years, they’ve probably not had the results, in terms of placing, that they deserve. They play an attacking brand of footy, they got a win against the Aussies … so, yeah, they’re right up there.
‘I expect a bit of what they showed last weekend (against Samoa) and in the Six Nations.
‘They are willing to throw the ball around, they are an attacking team. But they will certainly mix it up with a solid forward pack, as well.
‘I’m sure they will try to throw everything at us.’
The All Blacks arrived here this week and looked fairly relaxed — despite taking some flak for their showing against the French. Where almost any other team on the planet would be celebrating a 38-18 victory over
Les Bleus in Paris, the fact New Zealand ran in four first-half tries almost seemed to be overshadowed by their failure to put the hammer down after the break.
That kind of uneven performance is seen as totally unacceptable from this team, who have been forced to shrug off accusations that they are just not clinical enough.
‘We always want to be a ruthless side and put teams away,’ insisted Read.
‘But Test matches are not supposed to be easy. And it’s
different, depending on who you are playing. ‘But, with the majority of the teams we face, they play one of their best games of the season against us. ‘We have to be disciplined and try to stick to our game plan for the full 80 minutes. ‘If we do that, then we give ourselves a good chance of winning games. ‘If we can also perform a lot better than, say, in the second half in Paris last weekend, we will certainly be happy.’ The fact that Scotland have never beaten the All Blacks can hardly have escaped the notice of anyone in the visiting camp. Then again, plenty of these guys played in the game against Ireland in Chicago last November. If one hoodoo could be busted, why not another? ‘We are certainly aware of that record,’ admitted Read. ‘For us, you want to try to preserve that run as much as you can.
‘If we turn up and show the respect to the Scottish team that they deserve, then, hopefully, our performance will show that.’
Asked if the Chicago loss to the Irish had made them more aware of protecting this particular piece of history, the skipper declared: ‘No, not at all. Look, as an All Black team, it doesn’t matter who we play — we always aim to win.
‘A record is a record. We just go out and play. We always feel like we want to do it justice, as an All Black team.’
Throwing a non-cap midweek game against a France XV into the schedule has given New Zealand a different sort of build-up to this match, with Read saying he had found it ‘refreshing’ to watch the fringe players battle to a victory.
Normally, the reality of life in the most successful international rugby team of all time leaves little room for variation, so even a little change has been welcomed.
Come kick-off, though, they will be back in the old routine. Facing up to a Scotland side who, in starting stand-off Finn Russell and replacement forward Grant Gilchrist, boast two guys familiar to a couple of the All Blacks.
Both players spent time in New Zealand while developing early in their rugby careers and Read recalled yesterday: ‘I remember the boys like Finn who were down at the Crusaders training ground pretty much every day, doing their separate training.
‘It’s a pretty rapid rise for those blokes, to come straight out of that and into the Scottish team a year later. It’s pretty awesome for them.
‘Will I catch up with them tomorrow? After the game, you mean? Yeah, not during it!’